Thousands of people are expected to descend on the city next week as Hollywood film star Nicolas Cage switches on the Christmas lights.

The event, which has attracted national attention, will take place on Thursday in Milsom Street and will see crowds gathering to get a glimpse of the award-winning actor.

Yesterday a meeting was called to discuss crowd control and traffic management issues in light of the weekend's festive light switch-on in Birmingham, which saw 60 people injured at an event where boy band JLS were guest stars.

Avon and Somerset Police and Bath and North East Somerset Council health and safety and traffic officers met to talk about the precautions which would be put in place to deal with the large number of people expected.

The event will begin at 4.30pm with local groups providing the entertainment for the evening.

Among the performers will be conductor Grenville Jones's mixed voice choir the Bath Chorus and music students from the City of Bath College.

The entertainment is at the request of 45-year-old Cage, who specifically said the evening should be about the people of Bath and that local talent should be showcased at the event.

The City of Angels and Con Air star will be on stage from 6.15pm with a host of guests and local dignitaries and will press the switch at 6.30pm after giving a short speech.

City centre manager Andrew Cooper encouraged visitors and residents to arrive early for the ceremony.

He said: "We are thrilled that Nicolas Cage has agreed to switch on the lights this year and we are also thrilled it has attracted so much attention.

"For people coming to the event, plan to get there early and enjoy the late night shopping and Christmas market.

"Bath offers a fantastic mix of high street stores and independent shops located around the city, which provide a shopping experience that's hard to beat."

He also encouraged people to make good use of the city's park and ride sites to avoid heavy traffic in the city centre and for those using city centre car parks, to do so early in the afternoon.

The park and ride buses will run later next Thursday, with the last ones leaving the city centre at 9.30pm.

The switch on will also mark the opening of the Bath Christmas Market.

This year's lights, which will be provided for the council by a new contractor Blachere Illumination, which has also laid on Christmas lighting in Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Bath artist and wire sculptor Derek Kinzett will also be revealing new festive structures which will take pride of place in Milsom Street.

The four life-size sprites will be unveiled on Thursday at the same time as the switch-on.

Cage is already a big fan of Mr Kinzett's work after buying a sculpture from part of his Avalon Child collection.

Meanwhile on the evening, the SouthGate centre, which is a one of the event's sponsors, is hosting a Hollywood Glamour evening to coincide with the actor's visit.

Shoppers will be able to listen to live bands, have makeovers and experience other Hollywood related entertainment.

Cage did have two homes in Bath - at the Circus and Midford Castle - but this year decided to sell them both and make his house near Glastonbury his main west country residence.

The star is now embroiled in a legal battle with a former business manager in the USA over his financial affairs.